Florida Bar disciplines attornies statewide, July 5

The Florida Bar, the state's guardian for the integrity of the legal

profession, announces that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court

orders disciplined 17 attorneys, disbarring five, permanently enjoining

one from the practice of law in Florida, finding one guilty of indirect

criminal contempt, suspending nine, placing one on probation and

reprimanding one. Restitution was ordered in two cases and attendance at

ethics school was ordered in one case. Some attorneys received more than

one form of discipline.

As an official agency of the Florida Supreme Court, The Florida Bar and

its Department of Lawyer Regulation are charged with administering a

statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of

professional conduct for the 80,000-plus lawyers admitted to practice

law in Florida.

The following lawyers are disciplined [Please note that court orders are

not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed,

determined. The filing of such a motion does not alter the effective

date of the discipline]:

Alexander Osondu Akpodiete, 165 Courtland St. N.E., Suite A-315,

Atlanta, Ga., placed on an indefinite period of probation, effective

immediately, pursuant to a June 11 court order. The probation will

remain in place until he pays a $9,193 judgment against the Akpodiete

Law Group, P.A. (Admitted to practice: 1994) Akpodiete failed to respond

in writing to an official inquiry by The Florida Bar. (Case No.

SC06-152)

Anthony Alvarez, 19 W. Flagler St., Suite 410, Miami, suspended for 90

days, effective 30 days from a June 21 court order and directed to

attend and successfully complete Ethics School. (Admitted to practice:

1994) Alvarez represented a number of clients referred to him by a local

church in immigration matters, charging a reduced fee. He did not have a

written retainer agreement and did not maintain records or receipts of

payments made by clients and, in one case, submitted a letter to an

immigration judge in which he acknowledged inadequate representation of

a client. He also failed to competently represent, did not act with

reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client and did not

explain a matter sufficiently to permit a client to make informed

decisions. (Case No. SC06-940)

Mark Irwin Blumstein, 4581 Weston Road, No. 203, Weston, suspended for

two years, effective immediately, pursuant to a June 28 court order. (

Admitted to practice: 1986) Blumstein failed to competently represent a

client, which resulted in the client's corporation being financially

punished with a large money judgment. Blumstein did not tell the client

that a judgment had been entered against him and lied to Bar

investigators regarding his failure to respond to earlier inquiries. He

also failed to timely pay child support obligations. (Case No.

SC06-1724)

Wayne Dilburn Clance, 5610 Great Pine Lane N., Jacksonville, suspended

for one year, effective immediately, and ordered to pay restitution

pursuant to a June 28 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1969) Clance

quoted a client a fee for filing a bankruptcy petition. He subsequently

increased the fee, which the client paid, but did not file the

bankruptcy petition, return the client's telephone calls or refund the

fee. (Case No. SC06-173)

Richard Mark Creel, 15275 Collier Blvd., PMB No. 201-218, Naples, to

receive a public reprimand, pursuant to a June 7 court order. (Admitted

to practice: 1987) Creel was negligent in handling client matters, did

not adequately communicate with clients and did not timely respond to

the Bar's investigative inquiries. (Case No. SC06-2404)

Patrick Joseph Dooley, 1600 S. Federal Highway, Suite 1100, Pompano

Beach, the subject of a June 13 emergency suspension order. Dooley is

not to accept new clients and must cease representing any clients after

30 days from the date of the order. He also must get Florida Supreme

Court approval before disbursing or withdrawing any money from trust

accounts. (Admitted to practice: 1991) After receiving notice

from Dooley's bank that two trust account checks had been returned

because of insufficient funds, the Bar determined the shortage in his

trust accounts had fluctuated between $129,939 and $309,636 because he

was using trust funds for personal purposes. (Case No. SC07-1067)

Fernando Garcia, 3625 N.W. 82nd Ave., Suite 201, Miami, disbarred

effective 30 days from a June 28 court order. (Admitted to practice:

1995) Garcia had overdrafts in his trust accounts, failed to keep and

maintain complete trust account records and failed to produce all

records identified in the Bar's subpoena. (Case No. SC07-1054)

Bernardo Motola, 3225 S.W. 57th Court, Miami, suspended for three years

retroactive to April 1, 2006, pursuant to a June 21 court order. (

Admitted to practice: 1985) On April 10, 2006, Motola pled guilty to

reduced misdemeanor charges of three counts of stalking, one count of

violation of an injunction and one count of battery and was sentenced to

six years of probation with special conditions. Remaining charges were

dismissed by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. (Case No.

SC07-1056)

Brian Edward Norton, 533 E. Georgia St., Tallahassee, permanently

enjoined from the practice of law in Florida and found guilty of

indirect criminal contempt, pursuant to a June 14 court order. (Admitted

to practice: 1975) Norton, whose license was suspended at the time,

represented an individual who faced criminal charges. With regard to the

finding of indirect criminal contempt, the court sentenced Norton to a

suspended sentence of five months, with the condition that he serve the

sentence should he violate the injunction enjoining him from the

unauthorized practice of law. (Case No. SC06-126)

Mitchell J. Olin, 507 S.E. 11th Court, Fort Lauderdale, subject of a

June 19 emergency suspension order. Olin is not to accept new clients

and must cease representing any clients 30 days from the date of the

order. He also must get Florida Supreme Court approval before

disbursing or withdrawing money from trust accounts. (Admitted to

practice: 1986) The Court found that Olin appears to be causing great

public harm by misappropriating client trust funds or property. (Case

No. SC07-1053)

David Thomas Perez, 15476 N.W. 77th Court, No. 404, Hialeah, disbarred

effective immediately pursuant to a June 28 court order. (Admitted to

practice: 2002) Perez failed to appear and produce records to The

Florida Bar under order of the court. He was involved in a real estate

transaction in which the closing statement revealed substantial

irregularities and misrepresented his role in a title company in

response to a Bar inquiry. (Case No. SC07-1057)

Perry S. Reich, 8042 Bell Blvd., Jamaica, N.Y., disbarred effective

immediately, pursuant to a June 7 court order. (Admitted to practice:

1981) In March 2006, Reich was found guilty by the U.S. District Court,

Eastern District of New York of three felonies, including forgery of a

judge's signature and obstruction of justice. He was disbarred in New

York in May 2006. (Case No. SC07-165)

David Howard Roberts, 7181 43rd St., Pinellas Park, suspended for 18

months retroactive to June 27, 2006, pursuant to a June 28 court order.

(Admitted to practice: 1996) Roberts transported several firearms from

his office to a friend's house. Roberts and an individual at the

friend's house had a verbal altercation, at which point Roberts removed

an unloaded shotgun from his car and pointed it at the individual. He

was placed on probation for five years, after being adjudicated guilty

of the felony offenses of aggravated assault and carrying a concealed

firearm. (Case No. SC06-2481)

Joseph Raymond Rowe Jr., P.O. Box 272066, Tampa, suspended for 30 days,

effective 30 days from a June 7 court order. (Admitted to

practice: 1991) Rowe failed to respond to two Bar inquiries regarding

potentially false and misleading language in his advertisements,

including use of the words "libre de cargos" (free of charges) and his

firm's name, "Unidos Servicios de Inmigracion" (United Immigration

Services). (Case No. SC06-1727)

Catherine Elizabeth Timilty, 2639 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St., St.

Petersburg, suspended for one year, effective 30 days from a June 21

court order. (Admitted to practice: 1999) Timilty committed an act that

is unlawful or contrary to honesty and justice and violated or attempted

to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct or knowingly assisted or

induced another to do so. She also engaged in conduct involving

dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. (Case No. SC06-2320)

Delores Lori Wheeler, 1407 Cumbie Ave., Orlando, disbarred, effective

immediately, pursuant to a June 21 court order. (Admitted to practice:

1989) In numerous instances, Wheeler failed to appear at routine court

hearings and neglected to notify clients of her failure to appear. In

all, she was found guilty of six counts, three of them related to her

failure to provide clients with competent representation and her failure

to keep clients reasonably informed of the status of their cases and to

promptly reply to requests for information. (Case No. SC06-2302)

David George Zanardi, 19314 Heather Creek, San Antonio, Texas, disbarred

effective 30 days from a June 28 court order. (Admitted to

practice: 1998) Zanardi falsified divorce records and created sham

documents so that he could borrow money against a home he jointly owned

with his then wife. He also was engaged in the unlicensed practice of

law in the Commonwealth of Virginia and resigned from a Washington,

D.C., firm when he was requested to produce proof of licensure to

practice in the District of Columbia. Finally, he shared his legal fees

with a nonlawyer as part of a retainer agreement. (Case No. SC06-1740)